1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a method of securing the time reference of a message transmitted in a radiocommunication network, in particular between two mobile stations or between a mobile station and a fixed station. More particularly, the invention finds an application in radiocommunication networks requiring a high level of security, such as railroad radiocommunication networks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Railroad radiocommunication networks are used to exchange information between two nearby trains (passing each other for example) or between a train and a ground station.
Information can pass between a train and a ground station in both directions:
from the train to the ground station in the case of instructions transmitted by the train to the railroad network (remote control of a switch, for example), and
from the ground station to the train in the case of information on the status of the railroad network and in particular on exceptional events such as a section of the network being out of service.
The above possibilities do not constitute a comprehensive statement of the types of information that can be transmitted on this type of network.
Nevertheless, these few examples show clearly that messages transmitted on the network require an extremely high level of security. For example, if a section of the track is closed because of the unscheduled stopping of another train, an error in transmitting the message to the next train can lead to a fatal accident.
Transmission errors that can occur on a radiocommunication network can be classified into two different types: errors in the content of the message and errors in the time reference.
The problem of errors in the content of a message transmitted on a communication channel of any kind is a well-known problem to which there are many solutions, in particular based on error-correcting encoding techniques.
The time reference problem occurs as soon as the pertinence of messages changes with time.
An error in the time reference of a message can be due to congestion of a circuit of the transmitter. For example, transmission of the message could be blocked for some time in the circuit performing the error-correcting encoding.
Another possible cause is a time delay induced by the transmission channel between the transmitter and the receiver.
To revert to an example previously referred to, a message indicating that a section of a railroad network is closed to traffic must have a precisely determined date. Thus in the case of a railroad radiocommunication system it is clear that messages must be dated because they relate to events that change with time.
The date a message is sent must therefore be included in the content of the message and possibly secured by the error-correcting mechanisms referred to hereinabove.
However this dating mechanism is inadequate if the transmitter and the receiver do not have a common clock. In radiocommunication networks including at least one mobile station it is impossible for the various stations to have a common clock.
The aim of the present invention is to propose a method of securing transmission of a message between two mobile stations or between a mobile station and a fixed station which alleviates the shortcomings of the prior art by diversifying the processes of transmitting the date to the receiver.
To be more precise, the present invention consists in a method of transmitting an initial message between two radiocommunication stations, possibly mobile stations, in which a first radiocommunication station:
inserts a date supplied by a clock in said initial message to form an outgoing message, and
transmits said outgoing message and the successive dates supplied by said clock to the second radiocommunication station.
The invention further consists in a transmitter for implementing the above method. To be more precise, it concerns a radiocommunication station, possibly a mobile station, including a clock, means for inserting dates supplied by said clock into initial messages to form outgoing messages, said dates being the dates of production of said outgoing messages, and means for transmitting said outgoing messages and successive dates supplied by said clock over said radiocommunication network.
Other aims and features of the present invention will become apparent on reading the following description of embodiments of the invention given with reference to the accompanying drawings.